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Latest On Mike Hoffman

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Mike Hoffman, ranked No. 4 among PHR’s Top 50 UFA’s this off-season, is undoubtedly the best player still available on the open market. The topic of almost daily speculation, everyone wants to know where the top goal scorer on the free agent market will end up. Well, the waiting may continue for a quite a while longer. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Hoffman and his camp are willing to be patient and wait for a deal that measures up to the veteran forward’s ability. Just how long will they wait? Potentially until after the season begins, currently projected for early January.

LeBrun notes that there are a number of potential suitors for Hoffman’s services who may “circle back” on Hoffman once they are able to place current players on Long-Term Injured Reserve. That would allow for teams to open up the cap space required to add Hoffman. Among the teams mentioned as potential landing spots in this scenario are the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, and St. Louis Blues. The Blues and Oilers do not have nearly the space to afford Hoffman currently, but will gain space with Vladimir Tarasenko and Oscar Klefbom, respectively, potentially out for the year. The Bruins have the room to sign Hoffman right now, but still need to re-sign restricted free agent forward Jake DeBrusk and may still address the left side of the blue line. However, they can open up more space and start accruing some cap savings with David Pastrnak likely to miss a month or two.

Meanwhile, LeBrun states that the Florida Panthers, Hoffman’s most recent club, and the Nashville Predators continue to call about Hoffman. It would seem that neither team has been willing to ante up to land the six-time 20-goal scorer, otherwise a deal would be done. If they were to up their offers, Hoffman could certainly sign sooner than January.

Suspiciously absent from LeBrun’s report are the Columbus Blue Jackets, who cleared cap space earlier this off-season and stated their intent to add a top free agent forward. So far, they have not done that. Columbus could be waiting until new contracts are sorted out with RFA’s Pierre-Luc Dubois and Vladislav Gavrikov, but one would think that the team will jump into the mix for Hoffman at some point if they have not done so already.

For now, Hoffman is content to wait out the market. The 30-year-old may wind up settling for a one-year deal and hitting the market again next summer, but he does not seem willing to take a discount on his next contract, regardless of the term. In an off-season that has been filled with team-friendly deals given the ramifications of the flat cap, Hoffman is hoping to be an exception.

Snapshots: Draft Rankings, Tallon, OHL, Crotty

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While scouting opportunities have been rather limited so far, preparations for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft must go on.  Accordingly, the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau released its Players to Watch list with 341 prospects listed in total.  A total of 31 players were ranked as ‘A’ (first round) grades with the rest checking in at ‘B’ (second or third round) or ‘C’ (fourth round and beyond).

While Alexis Lafreniere was the widely-anticipated top pick heading into last season, there isn’t a consensus number one choice just yet.  Defensemen Owen Power (Michigan, NCAA), Luke Hughes (US NDTP), and Brandt Clarke (Barrie, OHL) along with centers Aatu Raty (Karpat, SM-liiga) and Kent Johnson (Michigan, NCAA) plus winger Dylan Guenther (Edmonton, WHL) are all among those who figure to be within the top-10 with some contending for the top spot.

More from around the hockey world:

  • It appears that former Florida GM Dale Tallon may not be out of a job for long. Rob Rossi of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the 70-year-old has emerged as a candidate to join the front office in Pittsburgh.  The Penguins made a move yesterday with the firing of Jason Karmanos and it’s possible that they could turn to Tallon to take his place, albeit likely in a role other than assistant GM.
  • The OHL is expected to announce their revised plans to start the 2020-21 season on Wednesday. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that the league is now targeting a February 4th start date with training camps beginning on January 25th.  With the regular season needing to be extended well past its usual March finish date, Dreger also notes that a reduced playoff field of eight teams is expected to be announced as well.  This is a significant difference compared to the other major junior leagues as the QMJHL has already started their season (though most divisions have been shut down temporarily) and the WHL is targeting January 8th to get things underway.
  • Cameron Crotty’s professional career was supposed to begin in Arizona’s system but he’ll have a detour in Norway first instead. Sparta Sarpsborg of the Eliteserien announced that they’ve added the defenseman on a loan agreement although he has yet to make it over there so it will be a little while before he debuts.  The 21-year-old opted to turn pro with the Coyotes after spending three years at Boston University where Crotty had 10 goals and 17 over that span.

Free Agent Profile: Erik Haula

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Despite the excitement of  the free-agent flurry that started off the 2020 offseason, things have calmed down now quite a bit and yet there remain a number of free agents out there for teams to pick up. Yet with little cap room remaining for most the playoff hopefuls, teams are being extra cautious about paying out too much to free agents. especially if they are coming off a down season. That perfectly explains the situation for free-agent center Erik Haula, who has now found himself looking for a fourth team in just two-plus seasons and is coming off a 12-goal campaign last year.

The 29-year-old will be hitting 30 during the 2020-21 season and has dealt with numerous injuries, including a gruesome leg injury that held him to just 15 games in 2018-19. However, that hasn’t stopped teams from showing interest in the center, one of the few potential impact centers remaining on the free-agent market, who was ranked 16th in our PHR Top-50 Free Agents. If healthy, he has the potential to fill a second-line center role or be a top third-line option in the middle. He has the potential to put up goals, scoring 29 goals in Vegas’ inaugural season in 2017-18.

Despite Vegas’ love for Haula, the team even had cap issues after their second season and were forced to send Haula to the Carolina Hurricanes to free up some cap room. Haula signed a three-year, $8.25MM contract ($2.75MM AAV) with Vegas as part of a deal for the Golden Knights to select him in the expansion draft from Minnesota and looked like a significant find after the first year. The injury held up that outlook for the next season and Carolina was hoping to recapture some of that offensive magic last season. Instead, he struggled through more knee injuries on and off and only appeared in 41 games with 12 goals before the Hurricanes packaged him to Florida for Vincent Trocheck. Haula scored no goals in seven games for the Panthers before the team’s season ended.

However in the right system and with plenty of extra time to allow his knee to fully mend, Haula could fill a significant hole in a team’s middle and if everything goes right, could thrive there.

Potential Suitors

Not surprisingly, Haula has received significant interest from at least 10-12 teams, yet no deal has been struck. The forward is likely looking for a potential long-term deal, deals that aren’t really offered to players right now as several free agents have had to ink one-year deals in hopes that the 2021 offseason may prove to be more lucrative and hopes that COVID-19 may settle down in a year.

Perhaps one of the most obvious suitors would be returning to the one team where he had the most success. The Golden Knights might be a perfect fit for Haula as the team was forced to send off center Paul Stastny to Winnipeg to save cap room and with Cody Glass’ rookie season having also been interrupted by injury, there is a clear opening for a No. 2 center in the system. Of course, the team is so tight against the cap that the team doesn’t even have the money for a minimum-salaried deal without clearing more cap room, which will be difficult. The team has already made it clear they will not be moving now back-up goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, which means they will be spending $12MM on their goalies this coming year.

Rumors that the Pittsburgh Penguins could be looking for a third-line center to fill in some depth for another Stanley Cup run with their veteran squad. Pittsburgh doesn’t have a clear-cut third or fourth-line center, so Haula would be a big addition to a team that needs to get more scoring from their bottom-six. Of course, the team must look at their cap issues as well. Other teams such as the New Jersey Devils and the Vancouver Canucks have come up although there are likely many others, but only the Devils have the cap room to easily bring him in.

Projected Contract

PHR initially projected Haula to receive a three-year, $11.25MM deal, although that number now looks quite high considering some of the contracts that other players have received in the last week or so. Players ranked much higher, such as Evgenii Dadonov and Tyler Toffoli each had to settle for less than they were hoping for. Dadonov received three years and $15MM from Ottawa, while Toffoli signed a four-year deal at $17MM with the Montreal Canadiens.

Considering that Haula is coming off two injury-plagued and disappointing offensive seasons, it doesn’t seem likely that he can easily pry a long-term deal away from any team and may have to sign a one-year “prove it deal,” except for the fact that his services as a center could give him slightly more leverage than most free agents remaining on the market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NHL Postpones 2021 Winter Classic, All-Star Weekend

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The NHL has officially postponed both the 2021 Winter Classic and 2021 All-Star Weekend due to the lack of fan participation and attendance that will be possible. The league has not changed their previous target of January 1 as a potential start date for the upcoming season, though that is obviously still not confirmed at this point.

The Winter Classic was scheduled to be held at Target Field in Minneapolis and was to feature the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues. The Florida Panthers were set to host the All-Star Weekend at the end of January. The league intends to return to both locations for the respective events “in the near future” and lists 2022 as a target.

In the release, they included this statement from NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer:

Fan participation, both in arenas and stadiums as well as in the ancillary venues and events that we stage around the Winter Classic and All-Star Weekend, is integral to the success of our signature events. Because of the uncertainty as to when we will be able to welcome our fans back to our games, we felt that the prudent decision at this time was to postpone these celebrations until 2022 when our fans should be able to enjoy and celebrate these tentpole events in-person, as they were always intended. We are also considering several new and creative events that will allow our fans to engage with our games and teams during this upcoming season.

It was always very unlikely that either event would be able to proceed as planned given the delayed start and condensed schedule that next season will have to work under.

Snapshots: Joyce, Colorado, Payment

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to hire Eric Joyce as their new director of hockey strategy, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. Joyce had been with the Florida Panthers since 2013, most recently as the senior vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager. With new leadership in the Florida front office, there was bound to be additional departures.

More from around the league:

  • The Colorado Avalanche won’t be playing at the Pepsi Center next season. No, that rink will now be called the Ball Arena after a new partnership with the organization. Ball Corporation and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which own the Avalanche, announced a “first-of-its-kind global partnership across three marquee venues” to advance a goal of waste control and sustainability in sports and entertainment.
  • Seravalli also reports that players that have a contract for 2020-21 and were frozen on an NHL roster at the time of the league pause, will be paid 8.1% of their upcoming salary by October 31. John Shannon adds on Twitter that this will be the only payment players will receive before the next season begins. This payment is important to remember when evaluating trades starting next month, as the remaining salary will be lessened even further even though games have yet to start.

Scott Wilson Signs With Florida Panthers

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The Florida Panthers have added some depth to their forward group, agreeing to terms with Scott Wilson on a one-year, two-way contract. Wilson has spent the last few seasons in the Buffalo Sabres organization, playing mostly at the minor league level.

Now 28, Wilson has carved out a long professional career after being the 209th overall selection in 2011. After three seasons at UMass-Lowell, he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014 and has suited up in more than 200 NHL games in the years since. Between 2016-2018 he was a regular in the league, even scoring 26 points in 78 games with the Penguins before helping them win the Stanley Cup in 2017. In Buffalo, things haven’t gone as smoothly, with Wilson playing more at the AHL level over the past two seasons.

There is certainly a chance that he can find a full-time roster position in Florida, though it seems more likely that Wilson will hit the waiver wire again before the season begins and spend most of his time in the AHL. That is of course if the AHL has a season, which isn’t certain at this point.

If it doesn’t, Wilson is exactly the type of player that can be kept around in a taxi squad of sorts, ready to jump into the lineup in case of injury.

MacKenzie Weegar's Agent Unhappy With Contract Negotiations

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  • Kevin Ebbs, the agent for Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, told David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period that his client is disappointed with the status of contract negotiations so far. The 26-year-old is coming off a career year offensively with 18 points in 45 games while averaging over 20 minutes a night for the first time as well.  That has him well-positioned to land a raise on the $1.6MM he made last season in his final year of RFA eligibility.  Weegar is one of three players that are scheduled for an arbitration hearing on November 8th so there is still a fair bit of time to reach an agreement beforehand.

Florida Panthers Re-Sign Philippe Desrosiers

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The Florida Panthers are bringing back a depth option in net. The team has announced that Philippe Desrosiers has signed a one-year contract extension. It is a two-way contract, and while no financial terms were disclosed, it is expected to be the same minimum $700K NHL salary as the deal he initially signed last summer.

Desrosiers, 25, has yet to make his NHL debut despite being selected in the second round back in 2013. The former QMJHL star and top Dallas Stars prospect never quite found his footing in the AHL early on, struggling to play well enough to avoid a demotion to the ECHL. That changed when he joined the Panthers last season, sticking in the AHL for a full season for the first time. Despite a 3.05 goals against average, 2019-20 was arguably also his best pro season, as he recorded a career-high .916 save percentage and 29 appearances and won 16 games.

Entering a new year, the situation is status quo for Florida in goal. Sergei Bobrovsky is the bell cow starter for the Panthers in the NHL and Chris Driedger and RFA Samuel Montembeault again seem destined to compete for the backup job with the loser taking over the starting role in the AHL. Ryan Bednard spent most of his first pro season in the ECHL and could do so again. Barring another addition – and a solid backup for Bobrovsky in a condensed season might be a smart move – Desrosiers should likely return to his backup job in the AHL, so long as he can hold off Bednard, and could be an injury away from challenging Driedger or Montembeault himself for an NHL opportunity.

Snapshots: QMJHL, Foley, Weegar

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The QMJHL has postponed all East and West division teams will have their games up until October 28 postponed. The league was forced to shut things down given the increased COVID-19 situations all across the province, but will reassess in two weeks.

The games in the Maritimes will continue, though the Moncton Wildcats have shut their program down indefinitely as they deal with the outbreak there. Many prospects from the QMJHL climbed draft boards after a few early 2020-21 viewings that took place before last week’s draft, but they’ll have to wait for things to calm down again before resuming play.

  • Speaking of resuming play, Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley was on Vegas Hockey Hotline today and let a few things slip about the potential 2020-21 season structure. Foley referenced a “Canadian division,” an idea that has been thrown around for some time, and noted that the league may be forced to go with a shortened season given the Olympics, a problem that the league was facing this year too until the Games were postponed.
  • Back to trade talks, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet gave some clarity on who could be interested in Florida Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, whose name has been in the rumor mill the last few weeks. According to Friedman, the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets are all “among those who have checked in.” He also mentions Travis Dermott, Andreas Johnsson (since traded to the New Jersey Devils), Tyson Jost and Jack Roslovic as potential names that were discussed with Florida.

Vegas Working On Nate Schmidt Trade

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7:35PM: Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic notes that the Panthers have not completed a deal for Schmidt.  Considering their cap situation, a trade of someone making a sizable salary will need to happen before they can finalize any contract with Pietrangelo.

5:59 PM: While the talk the last hour or so has been with the Vegas Golden Knights looking to deal one of their defenseman to the Winnipeg Jets to make room for an Alex Pietrangelo signing, now Fox Sports Andy Strickland reports that Vegas is expected to send defenseman Nate Schmidt and his contract of five years at $5.95MM, is heading to the Florida Panthers. No word yet on the return.

Schmidt has been a big component for the Golden Knights since their inception. The blueliner was one of the Golden Knights selections in the expansion draft and has been one of their top minutes eaters since joining the team. While likely being surpassed as the team’s top defenseman last season by the improved play of defenseman Shea Theodore, Schmidt has been a key face for the Golden Knights franchise and a major locker room presence, going back to the Golden Misfit days. Last year, the 29-year-old blueliner averaged 21:41 of ice time, while posting seven goals and 31 points last year, while providing solid defense for the Golden Knights.

In Florida, Schmidt should immediately fill a significant role for the Panthers that was hurting on the defensive end. Last year, Florida spent significant money on free agent goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who struggled out of the gate, much due to the fact that the Panthers defense was subpar, even under first-year head coach Joel Quenneville. This offseason, Florida has re-tooled their defense, moving multiple players out. The speedy Schmidt should fit in well besides Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, Anton Stralman and newly acquired Radko Gudas and Markus Nutivaara.

Teams are only able to go more than 10% above the Upper Limit during the offseason which is $89.65MM.  Accordingly, this deal will seemingly need to be finalized before Pietrangelo’s contract can be made official.

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